THIS MONTH'S KIT

Monday, October 25, 2010

Do you sometimes need a change of pace when scrapbooking and/or papercrafting? For myself I've found that sometimes I just need to change things up a bit sometimes and that may mean that I look at my crafty supplies in a bit of a different way. Today that meant that I met up with a few of my good girlfriends and whipped up some nifty headbands using floral embellishments, ribbon, some dollar store headbands and my handy dandy hot glue gun! I love the end result!

How have you used your scrappy supplies lately that wasn't "so" scrappy?

Thursday, October 21, 2010

I love photography, but I am definitely a beginner. I will take all the help I can get, and Photojojo is a great site with everything you could ever want or need relating to photography. Whenever I need some how-to for photography, it's one of the first places I go. You should check out the site and see everything they have to offer.

Since Fall is my favorite season, I loved this article here which had some great tips on taking awesome fall pictures.

(photo from photojojo)

I also found an article on tips for taking great Halloween pictures here.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Hey there! Happy Wednesday. Here in Philadelphia, Fall is in full swing. Leaves are changing colors and dropping, and I'm in a sweater. Love it all!

With the colder weather, I start to think about cozier foods. I love a good salad, but most salad veggies are just not as great as they were a few weeks ago. But still, I like to serve some greens at dinner. My kids are less picky than some of their friends. But that's not to say they don't balk at the idea of steamed broccoli. They will eat one teeny piece, just to please me, but not much more.

Enter the quiche. I know, I know, it's not exactly health food. But I can put any kind of veggie in a quiche, and my kids will eat it. I think it's the combination of eggs, cheese, and pastry crust. I mean, really, who doesn't love that?

Preparation
1. Set oven to 425ºF. Set pie crust into a deep 9" pie plate. Poke holes in it with a fork. Line the crust with a piece of foil folded about the size of the plate. Set the foil on top of the crust, and weigh the foil down (I use black beans, and save them to use it on my next pie crust.) This is called pre-baking. It keeps the crust crispier with custard-type fillings. There is a really good post explaining the process here. Bake the crust, for about 8 minutes. Remove the foil (and beans/weight), and bake it for 4 minutes more, poking any puffy areas gently with a fork. Remove the crust and set it aside.

2. Zap the broccoli in the microwave for one minute. Make sure both the broccoli and the peas are well drained. Lightly beat the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper.

3. Sprinkle half the cheese on the bottom of the crust. Add the broccoli (I used to make a pattern, but uh, it doesn't stay that way. As it bakes, the veggies will come up to the surface, and the pattern is lost. Just distribute it as evenly as possible.) Then add the peas. Drop little dabs of the pesto all over. Then the last of the cheese. Slowly pour in the milk/egg mixture. (Depending on how deep your dish is, you might have leftover milk/egg mixture.)

4. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean; let stand 10 minutes. Slice and enjoy!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Hello there! Hope you had a good weekend. Have you visited our DT gallery? It's up and filled with lots of inspiration.

Last Friday, I promised a peek into Lisa's workspace, and here it is. It's pretty awesome.

Since I work from home and occasionally have to meet with graphic design clients here, I have commandeered the office space in our house. It's about a 12' x 12' room in which I have a big wooden desk, a glass-doored bookcase, a red leather chair, an antique filing cabinet and several smaller storage cabinets and bins to hold all my stuff. Almost all of the pieces are hand-me-downs or were found at antique stores, flea markets & garage sales. I have a thing for furniture with a history. And if it has peeling paint, even better.

My desk was an anniversary gift from my husband and found at an antique mall in Jenks, Oklahoma. We refinished it and added new handles to the drawers. I love that it provides an expansive workspace and most days, it is usually covered in various scrap projects. On the left side of the desk there are faux drawers, which are actually a door that houses a typewriter lift. I love this feature because it lets me hide the more modern technology my job requires - it's where I've stashed my photo printer and Silhouette.

I keep the supplies I use regularly (adhesives, pens, scissors, punches) in a painted wood cubby on my desk - a flea market find.

Directly behind my desk is a glass-doored bookshelf, which holds the bulk of my scrapping supplies. I have them sorted into a variety of bins, buckets and baskets and I'm always on the lookout at flea markets for vintage-y type storage. Currently this space is packed full, which means a cleaning purge is imminent. :)

To the left of my desk, I have an old cabinet found at a flea market. To lift it off the floor, my husband added turned legs to the bottom I distressed the whole thing with cream and sage-colored paint.

I searched forever for a safe, sturdy storage option for my beloved cardstock and I was never able to find anything that was just right. So my handy husband made me two wooden bins that fit my specifications perfectly.

My patterned paper doesn't get such pretty storage - it's stacked in paper racks and housed in the coat closet adjacent to my office. This is another area in desperate need of a purging. Luckily, it's also behind closed doors so it makes it easy to ignore. ;) We also put shelves in this closet to house all my albums (and getting all my layouts into these albums is currently a work in progress!)

And that's where I create! I should add a disclaimer that I did clean up before snapping these photos. Most days, there are scrap supplies covering the desk (and sometimes the floor too!) Also usually present is a large dog on the floor behind the desk (carefully napping amongst the scrap disaster!) If you were to stop by my house unannounced, this is likely the scene you'd see:

Friday, October 8, 2010

Meanwhile, can I say how happy I am that we have Lisa as our guest this month? She's not only a good friend, but she's also an amazing scrapbooker (and dedicated runner who's training for a marathon.) We asked Lisa a few questions, because we are nosy. But I think you are going to like her sense of humor as much as we do.

Mosh Posh: What is one scrapping item you MUST HAVE? Lisa: My clear ruler + xacto knife. I can't do a thing without either of them.

MP: Who are your scrapping idols?L: I am inspired by so many people but I truly admire the women that have been able to turn their scrapbopoking talent into a successful career - Ali Edwards, Jenni Bowlin, April Foster, and Cathy Zielske, to name a few.

MP: When do you usually scrap?L: Morning or evenings, weekdays or weekends? Since my kiddos have gone back to school, my most productive scrap time is weekdays when I'm not interrupted to fetch snacks, wipe bottoms, or referee arguments.

MP: Is there anything "signature" about your style?L: I think most of my pages are pretty simple with a few ecclectic touches thrown in. I use white -bordered photos and stitching a lot.

MP: What's your thought process when scrapping? (how do you get started, the steps you usually take to create a page)L: My process usually begins with either certain papers or certain photos. These two elements have to work together before I can move onto the design, journaling, and embellishing. Once my photos and papers are nailed down, I just start playing around. I lay things down in different arrangements until I find something that works. Occasionally, I'll use my computer to sketch out a page or get an idea of where elements should be placed and how big they should be. But most of the time it's just me, pushing everything around until I like it. ;)

MP: How did you get started running?L: I wanted to lose weight before our wedding so I started running with a marathoning friend who had just had a baby. She was just getting back into running so we started building miles together (it was a slow, painful process!) I lost the weight (and later found it again) but the running thing stuck. Now, it's less about losing any weight and more about gaining some time alone with my thoughts (or lack of!) It helps me refocus and thus, keeps me sane. And that sanity thing is what gets me lacing up the shoes and heading out the door each day.

MP: What's your favorite beer?

L: Right now it's New Belgium Brewing's 1554. It's a dark Belgian ale with a slightly chocolatey after taste. It's perfect for fall. (And chocoholics.)

Come back Monday for a peek inside Lisa's workspace. It's pretty fab (and we learn that her husband is handy!)

Monday, October 4, 2010

I've been having a blast creating with this month's kit and can't wait to share the full layouts with you on gallery reveal day (just a little later this week!). Until then, keep on enjoying the sneaks!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Mosh Posh's owner, Kristen Young was featured in the very cool daily craft inspiration site Cartwheels In My Mind. Swing by Cartwheels, meet Kristen, and leave a comment for a chance to win a Mosh Posh kit.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Tis the season for baking and baking with apples nonetheless! I tried out this recipe yesterday and just had to share it with you all as it's the perfect warm treat to serve up on a cool fall day. Let me know if you try it and what you think of it. We love it here! (Recipe is from my Taste of Home Baking Book). Enjoy!

Directions

In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy; gradually add sugar. Blend in oil and vanilla. Combine flour, salt and baking soda; add to egg mixture. Stir in apples and pecans. Pour into a greased 10-in. tube pan; bake at 350° for 1-1/4 hours or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate.

In a small saucepan, combine topping ingredients. Bring to a boil; boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly pour over warm cake (some topping will run down onto the serving plate.)

Monday, September 27, 2010

I'm so ready for some crisper weather here...(we're still stuck in the 80's!) I keep looking for fallen leaves on the ground or some sign that we're going to see fall soon. Sadly, I'm stuck to looking at photos and thinking up ways to create my own 'fallen' leaves. Some of my favorites for you--

Monday, September 13, 2010

I am sneaking in late...probably not making it for a Monday post...yikes! I spent the majority of the day without internet, except for the wee bits that I can see on my phone, and it's sad that it can just derail my entire day's plan! Am I alone in that?Anyhow, popping in to give you the sketch we played with in the September gallery--I hope you can use it as a jumping off point for your own creations! I can see turning it on it's side or even completely upside down. I'd love to see what you make--link me up here or post it to the flickr gallery!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

This September is my favoritest kit so far. The colors are just so happy. For a little extra inspiration, I went to Flickr, and searched the main colors in the kit: teal, red, and yellow. And here are a few photos that I'm really into.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Over the nice long holiday weekend I had some time to create a bit with my September kit and I loved every minute of it! This month's kit is right up my alley with the new papers from Cosmo Cricket included (love the colors and patterns so much!), loved the embellishments this month too...can't wait to share all of my projects with you and to see what YOU create with this month's kit as well!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

This morning, Jenn's last post (and your comments) about what to do with birthday photos was front and center in my mind. That's because I was taking photos of my two oldest holding signs for first day of school. I've been doing this since my oldest went to preschool at age 3. Today, he was taking off to 6th grade. Not sure how much longer I'm going to be able to do this. Especially now that he's heading into the teen years, and gets embarrassed easily. But I did warn him that I'd be trying to do this until 12th grade.

As the bus drove off, and I came in with the camera, I started thinking about all these photos I've taken of the kids posing with a piece of paper (it says the school year each kid is in, the school name, the teacher's name, and the date), and what am I going to do with those.

So far, I've done one layout with some of the photos I've taken over the years.

I'm thinking I'll do three more to cover the years between this layout and high school graduation. Piggy-backing on Jenn's ideas, I was thinking that a mini-book with a page for each year, and info such as teacher's name, best friend, favorite subject would be a fun keepsake too.

Any other suggestions? Do you take photos of your kids' first day of school? Do you scrapbook them? Please share!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Is anyone else feeling a wee bit sad about the summer days that are quickly coming to an end? Tomorrow marks the start of the school year for me where I live and I decided to commemorate it with a layout featuring photos from this summer...and scraps that I had laying about my art desk. How about creating a layout yourself featuring the change of seasons? I'm sure you've got some special photos from summer about and certainly have some scraps to use up! :)

Thursday, August 26, 2010

I am a big fan of showing teachers how much they are appreciated, maybe because I am a teacher, LOL?! Here a re a few ideas that you could do to let your child's teacher know how much you appreciate them.